DaysofPal- Microsoft stated it has recently suspended the Israeli military’s access to its cloud and artificial intelligence services after revelations that Unit 8200, the Israeli elite intelligence division, used the technology to power a vast surveillance operation targeting Palestinian civilians, according to Guardian’s report on Thursday.
According to the investigation, conducted jointly by The Guardian, Israeli magazine +972, and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, Unit 8200 exploited Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform to store and analyzed millions of intercepted phone calls from Gaza and the West Bank.
Internal sources said the project grew to such an extent that officers inside the unit adopted the motto: “A million calls per hour.”
The system reportedly allowed the military to record, replay, and mine enormous volumes of communications for intelligence, which were then used to select bombing targets in Gaza.
Leaked documents reviewed by The Guardian indicated that Microsoft was aware of the scale of Israel’s data transfers.
The files showed that senior executives had knowledge of the unit’s plans as far back as 2021, when the company began implementing additional security measures for the project.
By July 2025, data stored on Azure servers linked to Unit 8200 had reached more than 11,000 terabytes, equivalent to 200 million hours of audio recordings, according to the leaked material.
The investigation also identified several Microsoft employees who had publicly shared details of their service in Unit 8200 or their status as reservists while managing projects with the Israeli military.
Unit 8200, often compared in scope to the U.S. National Security Agency, has long been criticized by rights groups for intrusive surveillance of Palestinians.
Following the revelations, Microsoft informed the Israeli government last week that it was cutting off the military’s access to Azure services and AI tools due to violations of its terms of service.
The suspension marks a rare corporate rebuke of the Israeli intelligence practices and raises questions about the role of global tech firms in enabling surveillance operations accused of violating international law.
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